Activity #5: Comparing Search Engines
Objectives
1. Based on the results (hits) identified from a basic search conducted with four search engines, students will analyze the differences between the search engines.
2. Students will have an increased awareness of scholarly research and how it differs from information found on Web sites geared toward the general public.
Procedure
1. Print out a Search Engine Table for each student (or group) and one for the instructor.
Note: Decide in advance whether you want each student in the group or the group members collectively to complete a Search Engine Table.
2. Familiarize students with what a search engine does and the various ways a search engine identifies and ranks results. Refer to our section, Search Engines Are Not Created Equal, for an explanation of search engines and links to search engine resources.
NOTE: Probably all of your students are familiar with Yahoo! You may, however, want to preview the other three search engines before assigning the activity. The links below provide background information on the search engines.
About Us--Scirus http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/aboutus/
About Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/about.html
Google Scholar Help http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/help.html
FAQs about USA.gov http://www.usa.gov/About/FirstGov_Faq.shtml
3. Have students work in small groups. Assign one of the following topics to each group:
REM sleep
gamma knife radiation therapy
reducing greenhouse gas emissions
anabolic steroids
antibiotic-resistant bacteria
ethanol production
organic solar cells
intelligent design
colonizing Mars
hybrid engine technology
NOTE: Be sure that students perform a basic search. Instruct them to do the search using the exact phrasing of the topics above and to place quotation marks at the beginning and end of the phrase. For example: "organic solar cells." This will make the search consistent across search engines.
4. Each group will search for results on their assigned topic using the following search engines. Students should complete the Search Engine Table using the results of their searches.
5. Discuss search results by using one of the following two options:
Option A: Lead a class discussion about the differences between the four search engines and how Scirus, Google Scholar, and USA.gov could be useful when conducting scholarly research.
Option B: Divide the class into three groups to discuss Scirus, Google Scholar, and USA.gov.
Using the Search Engine Table, have students discuss the search results for their individual topics and their observations about the quality, availability, and usefulness of the results. Once each group has come to a consensus about its search engine, have a spokesperson from each group report to the class about the search engine. Finally, as a class, compare and contrast Yahoo! to the other search engines.
Option C: After reviewing search engine results, focus class discussion on the last question in the Search Engine Table (choosing the best Web site/article from a large list of results). Discuss the criteria that can be used to judge Web sites. Web evaluation resources are available on the Additional Resources page of this Web site.
Activity created by Wendy Baker Torrence. April 2008.